Classy Liverpool seize initiative with victory over Villarreal

Liverpool put one foot in their third Champions League final in five seasons after defeating the least-fancied team in the last four in the form of Villarreal.

An own goal from Pervis Estupinan and Sadio Mane's 20th of the season in a three-minute second-half spell did the damage and the only criticism which could be levelled at Jurgen Klopp’s side was that they should have scored more.

European Cup semi-finals are not supposed to be easy but this was about as comfortable as it gets – arguably less trouble than the 5-2 first-leg victory over Roma at Anfield which set them on the way to a 2018 final defeat against Real Madrid.

Under Unai Emery the visitors had lost just one of 12 away games in Europe, in stoppage time at Old Trafford last September, and had beaten Juventus and Bayern Munich to reach their first Champions League semi-final since 2006.

Villarreal were perceived as presenting an easy option – by virtue of them not being Manchester City or Real Madrid – and Liverpool's dominance from the off suggested that would play out with La Liga’s seventh-placed team failing to register a shot on target in the game.

Even a goalless opening 45 minutes which set a new competition record for first-half shots without scoring in a semi-final was more down to the hosts’ inability to find the net than their opponent’s powers of resistance.

The dozen attempts they made surpassed any other team since the data was first collected in 2003-4, with the closest they came being Thiago Alcantara’s 25-yard effort off the post.

Mane, whose combination with Mohamed Salah looked back to its best, had three efforts, Salah himself had a couple while Luis Diaz cut in from the left to blast a right-footed effort at Geronimo Rulli who unconvincingly